Conor Gallagher being hooked at half-time was tough… but Kobbie Mainoo proved he’s the answer to England’s midfield problems

KOBBIE Mainoo has always been my preference to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold in England’s midfield.

I think he showed why in the second half tonight.

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But I still feel like it was tough on Conor Gallagher that he got sent off at half-time.

Firstly because it was probably our best half of the tournament.

And secondly, because it didn’t seem like a Gareth Southgate thing to do.

This will shake Gallagher’s confidence, for sure.

He will have thought this was his chance, but he only gets half of it.

That said, despite the disappointing result, the second half was better and Mainoo proved he is the man – or boy – to play there in the future.

He’s only 19 years old, but he understands the game very well and knows what it needs.

He is better on the ball than Gallagher and also allowed Declan Rice to advance further in the second half than in the first.

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It may not seem like it, but England THEY WERE better overall.

The 4-1-4-1 formation worked.

Maintains width and gives you two pocket players, in the first half Gallagher and Bellingham, then Mainoo and Bellingham.

For Slovenia, who defended in all four games, it was difficult to continue advancing.

Eventually one of them would arrive a little late and that would open up a line you could pass through.

That’s what happened with the disallowed goal and although Foden was in a good offside position, that type of pass from Rice was something we should have done more of.

We had more possession of the ball and looked more in control. But I wish we were braver.

This proves that Declan Rice can take this position on his own.

It seems strange to say this, but even though he was in a more withdrawn role, he seemed to have more freedom to move forward.

The best thing about Gallagher was his positioning. I thought he could have done more with the ball and he lost it a few times.

He stayed behind the Slovenian midfielder. This meant that the player could not pressure Rice because that would leave Gallagher completely free.

He was very intelligent and disciplined in that sense. One of the reasons it didn’t work with Trent was because Trent is a player who wants to get the ball and make things happen. This is very difficult against a block.

It gives you that energy. He will probably never be a midfielder capable of dictating a team’s play.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t be successful because he can offer something different. He can occupy players and open up space for other players.

But Mainoo does this and much more.

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Overall it was better, but still a little far from what I think this team can be.

It’s not possible that we’re not in good shape, but we must be feeling the heat. It’s hard to play when it’s hot and humid.

Or perhaps the game plan was to allow Slovenia to have it in certain areas.

Whatever the reasons, I didn’t see an energetic team with a lot of pressure.

Slovenia were not pressing like Denmark. It was only on a backward pass that they were more aggressive.

We needed to move the ball faster and pass it forward sooner.

Sometimes they should have lost a man by moving him in the back and giving us a chance to go around the outside.

There were some good combinations at a higher pace, but I felt we could have done more. We have players with the intelligence and quality to do it.

Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden rode well at times, but Bellingham seemed to have lost a bit of confidence.

We definitely needed a change on the wings and it was good to see Cole Palmer take to the field.

We had so little to do defensively that we could have signed Trent sooner.

We didn’t create enough in attack, which is disappointing considering all the talent we have.

But we are in the knockout stage and Mainoo has shown that he can put us ahead.

I just feel a little sorry for Gallagher.

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